Our Blog: The Standard

As the holiday season approaches and the holiday goodies start to appear (yay candy corn!), we should all stop to think… Have I been working on my CORE? If I held up a mirror, what would I see? Are you excited for caramel apples and pumpkin spice lattes? Are you already planning your Thanksgiving Feast? While fall is full of wonderful treats, some of us might be thinking about our CORES! Maybe you think I mean your CORE abdominal muscles… or maybe I’m talking about the Common Core and diving deeply into math and literacy standards. For me, this year…

Editors Note: This is a guest blog from Suzanne Farmer, NBCT and director of the Kentucky Network to Transform Teaching. The views expressed are her own. Teachers have all heard the old dig, “Those who can — do, and those who can’t — teach.” But it gets worse. “Those who can’t even do that, teach preschool.” As an early childhood educator, others perceive my work as that of an overpaid caregiver. I’m admired for my patience as I wipe noses, comfort criers, and tie shoes and not for my ability to teach kids to care for themselves and each other,…

Editor’s Note: Java Robinson, NBCT, teaches second grade in Montgomery County, Md. She supports her colleagues in pursuing and achieving Board certification as a coach, recruitment coordinator and candidate support provider. She is also a Teach Ambassador, working to recruit minority candidates into the teaching profession. The views expressed in this blog are her own. I was born by the river in a little tent Oh and just like the river I’ve been running ev’r since It’s been a long time, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will Sam Cooke wrote these…

Editor’s Note: Ambereen Khan-Baker, NBCT, teaches AP Language and Composition in Rockville, Md. As an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The views expressed in this blog are her own. If you want to support another teacher pursuing National Board Certification, what skills are essential to your effectiveness? This question was our focus this summer for the Candidate Support Provider (CSP) Foundations Committee at the National Board Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona, where…

Editor’s Note: Ray Salazar, NBCT, teaches high school English in Chicago Public Schools and is an award-winning blogger. The views expressed in this blog are his own. I admit it: I have favorite students. While I look out for all my students and work to build strong professional relationships around writing with all of them, there are always students I look out for a little more. It’s not usually the outspoken, charismatic, or high-achieving young people who become my favorites. Instead, I end up admiring the students who speak up only occasionally or rarely, who express their writing frustrations honestly,…

Editor’s Note: Mark Gardner, NBCT, is a high school English teacher in southwest Washington state working in a hybrid role that also allows him to work on professional development experiences for teachers.The views expressed in this blog are his own. In July, David B. Cohen shared his reflections about “Shifting the Culture” and how National Board Certification can be part of leveraging a shift. Considering my own experience, the mechanisms of a district’s culture shifts can be a bit mysterious, but I believe they are rooted in who leads, who learns, and who we pay attention to. Who Leads Last…

Over the past two years, thousands of teachers as well as undergraduate and graduate students field tested three components of the revised Board certification process. This summer one field tester was chosen at random to be awarded $3,000 for participating in the Component 3 field test, which involves video and analysis of one’s teaching practice. We’re excited to announce that the winner of this contest is… (drumroll please)…Carla Sanchez, a K-12 art teacher from Cheyenne, Wyoming! Last month our Standards and Assessment Program Associate, Trang Hoang, caught up with Carla to learn more about her experience as a field tester and…

Editor’s Note: Jennifer Dines, NBCT, is the Special Education and Student Services Coordinator at the Gardner Pilot Academy K-8 School, a Pilot School in the Boston Public Schools. The views expressed in this blog are her own. Becoming an NBCT has enabled me to articulate my thinking about our profession, with the confidence and credentials to be an outspoken advocate for our students and their needs. The National Board assessment process served as a catalyst to my transformation from teacher to teacher leader. Although I showed strengths in many areas on my National Board assessment, the scores I received on…

Editor’s Note: Java Robinson, NBCT, teaches second grade in Montgomery County, Md. She supports her colleagues in pursuing and achieving Board certification as a coach, recruitment coordinator and candidate support provider. She is also a Teach Ambassador, working to recruit minority candidates into the teaching profession. The views expressed in this blog are her own. “Hi, I remember you from National Board support sessions. How can I help?” That was refreshing to hear from a newly certified NBCT. But what can we do to keep the enthusiasm up for others? Unfortunately, once they become NBCTs, many teachers never consider…

Editor’s Note: Ray Salazar, NBCT, teaches high school English in Chicago Public Schools and is an award-winning blogger. The views expressed in this blog are his own. Writing matters to students when they see how words survive in the real world. Yes, our classrooms are the real world. But if the writing in class does not connect to students’ hearts and minds and what matters to them, the lessons can disappear like a Snapchat. I want students to remember the value, the power our writing. When I worked at a high school in downtown Chicago, I treasured the day (every…